Four in 10 NHS hospitals in England found to use outdated equipment in Lib Dem study

Four successful 10 NHS hospitals successful England are utilizing outdated aesculapian instrumentality including 37-year-old X-ray machines, according to probe from the Lib Dems, who are calling for other backing to regenerate outdated devices.

NHS hospitals are utilizing hundreds of aged X-ray machines, CT scanners and radiotherapy machines, with immoderate dating backmost to the 1980s, according to probe based connected state of accusation requests to 69 infirmary trusts. Of these, 41 said they had astatine slightest 1 X-ray instrumentality that was much than 20 years old.

The Liberal Democrat leader, Ed Davey, said helium would telephone for urgent authorities concern successful aesculapian instrumentality astatine the party’s outpouring conference.

“It beggars content that NHS unit are having to trust connected results from decades-old infirmary scanners, machinery that whitethorn person been built earlier they were adjacent born. Understaffed and exhausted NHS unit are being pushed to breaking point, portion patients are treated successful crumbling hospitals with outdated equipment,” helium said.

“The imaginable for mistake from poor-quality machines doesn’t carnivore reasoning about. People up and down the state volition beryllium disquieted astir whether they volition get an close speechmaking from these decades-old machines.”

The Lib Dem probe recovered that determination were 541 pieces of aesculapian equipment, including X-ray machines, CT and MRI scanners and radiotherapy attraction machines, crossed the infirmary trusts which were implicit a decennary old. Four successful 10 infirmary trusts person outdated aesculapian instrumentality astatine slightest a decennary old.

This is contempt proposal from NHS England that CT and MRI scanners and X-ray machines should beryllium replaced each 10 years to guarantee they proceed to run reliably and nutrient wide images.

The figures besides revealed that the NHS paid astir £20m implicit the past 3 years to support aged X-ray machines and scanners. Newcastle upon Tyne hospitals spot had the biggest attraction measure with astir £7.5m spent successful the past 3 years.

The oldest portion of instrumentality was a 37-year-old X-ray instrumentality owned by Bedfordshire hospitals trust. Other trusts with the oldest X-ray machines included the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay spot (27 years), Royal Cornwall hospitals spot (26 years) and Hampshire hospitals spot (26 years).

Thirty of the 69 NHS trusts had either a CT oregon MRI scanner that was astatine slightest 10 years old, with the oldest MRI scanner aged 20 and astatine Stockport NHS instauration trust, portion East Sussex had the oldest CT scanner astatine 17 years old.

A abstracted parliamentary question recovered that 20 of the country’s 268 linear accelerators utilized successful radiotherapy were older than their recommended 10-year beingness span.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We are investing grounds sums to upgrade and modernise NHS buildings truthful unit person the facilities needed to supply world-class attraction for patients, backed by £4.2bn this twelvemonth and £8.4bn implicit the adjacent 2 years.

“The NHS spent 99% of the superior backing disposable to it successful 21/22, delivering immense benefits for patients and staff, including 16 caller infirmary upgrades and 92 assemblage diagnostic centres to supply tests, checks and scans, arsenic good arsenic the renewal and replacement of instrumentality and insignificant gathering works.”